My .22 Collection

.22 Target Shooting

My Collection of Target Shooting Pistols

Benelli MP95

The Benelli MP95 .22 caliber is a precision target shooting pistol designed for the 25 metre pistol and 25 metre rapid fire pistol ISSF shooting events. It is manufactured by Benelli Armi SpA of Italy. The entire Finnish military shooting team uses the MP90S. This pistol has been used in may world competitions from slow fire to rapid fire and will outshoot a Smith and Wesson 41 in the right hands. It's extremely well balanced and may be configured to be balanced to your shooting needs via adjustable weights built into the front of the pistol.

Benelli MP95

Type: Target Pistol

Place of origin: Italy

Manufacturer: Benelli Armi SpA

Price: $950.00

Weight: 1,100 g (39 oz)

Barrel length: 110 mm (4.3 in)

Width: 50 mm (2.0 in)

Height: 132 mm (5.2 in)

Cartridge: .22 LR

Action: Blowback, semi-automatic

Feed system: 6-round detachable box magazine

Sights: fixed front sight, rear sight with lateral and vertical adjustment

Trigger: Fully adjustable

Performance - The following table shows the major results achieved by shooters using the Benelli MP90S cal. 22:

Features - Like all pistols designed for the 25 metre pistol and 25 metre rapid fire pistol events, it has fully adjustable sights, trigger and anatomically shaped grip. It employs a semi-automatic fixed barrel operation using the inertial, blow-back system. The feed is through sequential loading with a 6-round magazine. The caliber is the 22 LR.

Trigger - The trigger action is single action and completely adjustable. Completely independent and separable from the weapon, without necessity to demount it, it allows adjusting of trigger stop and trigger pull when released.

Counterweight - A proper box placed inside the sub-frame, under the barrel allows changing the weapon’s weight; in this way it is possible to obtain a perfect balance without altering the appearance.

Bolt - Completely removable from the weapon without wrenches or toolings, the bolt is equipped with two guide lugs which can be used for manual operation. It can be held open by means of a practical lateral button which can be easily activated by the same hand that opens the bolt lugs.

Anatomical Grip - The anatomical wood grip allows a strong and safe grip for right-hand or left-hand shooters; furthermore, it can be easily personalized since no mechanical parts are housed within it.

Sights - The sights are of a square-section type, with fixed front sight and a rear sight with lateral and vertical adjustment. The sight radius is 218 mm (from rear to front sight). Line of sight Very close to the axis of the barrel (only about 18 mm), the line of sight allows to control at maximum the extent of muzzle rise, to avoid mistakes due to wrist torsion and to achieve fast and easy rearming of the weapon after a round is fired. The distance from the barrel’s axis to the forearm directrix is extremely reduced; it allows a perfect grip angle and a reduced muzzle rise when shooting.

Design - The MP90S is constructed from tough materials, resistant to wear. The barrel is made of chrome-nickel alloy steel. The breech and bolt are constructed from chrome-molybdenum steel. The trigger guard is made of a special alloy of anodised ergal 55 aluminium, whilst the trigger mechanism is made from molybdenum chrome-nickel, heat treated and chromed.

Smith & Wesson Model 22A

The Smith & Wesson Model 22A is a semi-automatic pistol manufactured in Houlton, Maine. The 22A is a full-size pistol with an aluminum alloy frame. The steel barrel has an integrated Weaver style rail (similar to a Picatinny). This pistol is distinguished by two features: An integral rail along the top edge of the gun permits easy mounting of optical sights and other accessories. The gun's alloy frame and alloy-shrouded barrel help keep weight down for a full-sized pistol.

Smith & Wesson Model 22A

Type: Semi-automatic pistol

Place of origin: United States

Manufacturer: Smith & Wesson

Unit cost: $329.00

Weight: 975.2 g (2.150 lb) empty, w/ magazine

Length: 24.1 cm (9.5 in)

Barrel length: 13.9 cm (5.5 in)

Cartridge: .22 Long Rifle

Action: Semi-automatic

Feed system: 10-round detachable box magazine

Sights: Patridge front sight, adjustable rear sight

Design - The 22A is a single-action semi-automatic .22 caliber pistol. This means that after chambering the first round by pulling back and releasing the slide, each firing ejects the spent cartridge, cocks the firing pin, and then strips a new round from the magazine and loads it into the chamber. With a single action the firing pin or hammer is automatically cocked and pulling the trigger simply releases the firing pin. This results in a lower trigger pull force than a double-action pistol where the trigger must first cock the firing pin and then release it.

Safety - A frame mounted safety switch is present along the left side of the frame in the conventional location to be operated by the user's right thumb.

Sights - Patridge-type target sights are standard on this gun, with the rear sight adjustable for both windage and elevation. The front sight is integral with the barrel shroud and is not removable or adjustable.

Feed - An integral feed ramp at the barrel breech helps assure reliable loading of rounds into the chamber from the magazine.

Magazine - The magazine release is located on the front of the grip making it easy to locate and also makes it ambidextrous as well since it is equally well placed for both right and left handed shooters. This is more of a problem for people with smaller hands where the finger tips may lay on the front of the handle when gripping the gun. Typically ejecting a magazine requires retracting your middle finger and pushing in on the release with the finger tip. The eject button is difficult to depress with the middle part of the finger. The newer model incorporates a magazine safety that does not permit the gun to fire unless the magazine is fully seated. This feature helps prevent accidental discharge during careless handling especially during cleaning.

Cleaning - The gun takes down easily for cleaning via a pushbutton at the front that disengages the barrel from the frame. It is therefore possible to rapidly exchange barrels, for example to switch on and off one with a mounted scope, etc.

Variants- -There are several variants in terms of available barrel length (4", 51⁄2", 7"), target grips, and frame colors (gray or black). The stainless steel version (as opposed to the blued steel) is called the 22S.

Shooting - While accurate, the front grip magazine release and relatively heavy trigger pull make this pistol more suited to plinking than competitive target shooting. The location of the magazine release causes problems for some people in rapid fire situations. The extent of which depends on hand size and gripping style. For most shooters the location does not cause a problem however, in competitive shooting it can add a risk. The trigger pull while not excessive, is heavier than some of the other target pistols. Accuracy is quite good though and the pistol's low price still make it a good introductory gun for target shooting. It can be quite competitive against much more expensive models.

Pardini SP

Pardini SP cal.22 LR, designed for the demanding Bullseye shooter. Semiautomatic pistol with 5 shots magazine that loads in front of the trigger to bring the balance more forward and for ease of loading for rapid fire. Cal.22 LR. Fully adjustable trigger. Six removable steel weights with springs in the front of the gun act like active recoil absorber and allow adjusting the balance to personal preferences! For the demanding shooter! FEATURES: Special bolt design ensures delayed blowback operation based on the heavier mass and deliver exceptional accuracy. Dovetail cuts support direct mount of scope rings to the frame. It can be converted to .32 ACP or .32 S&W with additional conversion kit in less than a minute, using only one screw! You will shoot with the same trigger, the same grip, and the same scope both .22 and .32 competitions!

Pardini SP

Type: Semi-automatic pistol

Place of origin: Italy

Manufacturer: Pardini

Unit cost: $2,099.00

Weight: 1050 g.

Total Weight: 1100 g.

Overall length: 298 mm

Overall height: 135 mm

Length of barrel: 125 mm

Length of sight base: 220 mm

Number of grooves: 6

Length of rifling per turn: 450 mm

1 Click moving: 5 mm

Grips - Interchangeable walnut grips (16 sizes) between three models.

Bolt - Coaxial bolt moving between the barrel at the front and two guide pins at the rear.

Magazine - The angle of the magazine well has been carefully studied to provide prefect cartridge feeding.

Sear - The sear mechanism is fully adjustable for multi-stage weight and trigger pull resistance to suit all requirements.

Trigger - The trigger is adjustable is adjustable for reach and may be inclined to both right and left shooters. It has a first, second stage and free play adjustments. May increase or decrease both the first stage and second stage weight. The trigger also has a fully adjustable overtravel or trigger stop adjustment.

Bore - The low bore line, together with the well designed grip angle, weight distribution and truly coaxial bolt reduces the 'felt' recoil and allows quick and easy sight alignment between shots.

Weights - The front of the pistol has 6 multi-function counterweights that may be adjusted for correct balancing.

This is an amazing pistol as it has competed in many events over the years and has won Gold, Silver, and Bronze in almost all divisions. It's impressive and hard to beat. in 2014 it cleaned up all the 25 meter divisions and in all the rapid fire divisions.

2014

World Cup Beijing

World Cup Fort Benning

World Cup Muchen

World Cup Maribor

2013

XVII Mediterranean Games Mersin 2013

World Cup Changwon 2013

World Cup München 2013

World Cup Granada 2013

European Championship Osijek 2013

Campionati Italiani 2013

World Cup Final Munich 2013

World Cup Fort Benning 2013

2012

World Cup Final Bangkok

European Junior Championships Bologna

World Cup Munich

World Cup Milano

World Cup London

2011 World Cup München 2011

World Cup Sydney 2011

World Cup Fort Benning 2011

World Cup final Wroclaw 2011

European Championships Belgrade 2011

World Cup Changwon 2011

This pistol has an amazing history and is still making it today. It shoots accurately with most decent quality ammo, but is a tack driver when it's fed high quality precision target grade ammo. Amazingly Pardini has improved on this model with an electronic trigger, making it a dream to shoot. Pardini has set the standard for target grade pistols and will into the future.

Beretta 87 Target

The 87 Target is a .22LR single-action pistol designed for practical shooting and training. The 6” (150 mm) long barrel is covered by a lightweight alloy sleeve that accepts optical sighting systems (Weaver interface). The sights are adjustable, and the magazine features a sturdy rubber pad. The frame has a bevelled part for the easy insertion of the magazine. Standard grips are plastic, however walnut grips are available on request. Trigger pull is very light and crisp. The is so balanced, that the pistol is designed to remain upright when set down on a flat surface barrel down, ready to be quickly gripped, magazine loaded and raised to the target for .22LR target shooting. There is no other target pistol that has this design to date.

Beretta 87 Target

Type: Semi-automatic pistol

Place of origin: Italy

Manufacturer: Beretta

Unit cost: $800.00

Weight: Unloaded (gr/oz) 835/29.4

Total Height: (mm/in) 135/5.3

Length: (mm/in) 225/8.9

Total Thickness: (mm/in) 28/1.1

Barrel length: (mm/in) 150/5.9

Cartridge: .22 Long Rifle

Action: Semi-automatic/Single

Feed system: 10-round

For a long time now Beretta has made a lot of nice guns. The Model 87 Target is definitely one of them. The Model 87 really isn't a plinker. It’s a true target gun. The kind that would be suitable as a good entry gun for someone who wants to be serious about target shooting, either on their own or in competition. And for someone who wants that kind of gun, the price is quite reasonable. The Model 87 Target is a full-sized gun that is about 9 inches in overall length and almost 6 inches overall height. It has a 6-inch barrel and weighs about 41 ounces. That last item alone should cue you in on the fact that this is not a plinker – not the kind of gun you want to take into the woods with you for just casual shooting.

It comes with excellent, adjustable metal sights, but you actually have the option to trade out the front blade sight for a thinner one, which can aid in accuracy when just using the open sights. The rear sight is a simple notch, but fully adjustable for elevation and windage. And one other thing about the standard sights: the sight radius (the distance from the front to the rear sight) is huge, almost 7.5-inches, making it much easier to shoot the gun accurately. The gun also comes with a Weaver-style rail all along the top of the barrel housing, which makes it perfect for using whatever kind of optic that appeals to you. But this presents a design limitation – the whole housing has to stay put when operating the gun. To allow this, the receiver and slide mechanism operates below the top of the housing, which may strike some shooters as odd at first.

The Model 87 Target is smooth and reliable. The trigger, which was fairly light (about 3 pounds) and breaks cleanly. Overall it was a very nice shooting gun, the sort of gun you could shoot all day with only the effort you put into trying to perfect your technique being noticeable; the gun wouldn't get in the way at all. The fit and finish of the gun was excellent, and what you would expect from a higher-end Beretta product. That said, there are reports online that the finish of the barrel housing and the front frame extension and weight mar easier than expected.

Ergonomics - The ergonomics of the gun are excellent, the grip is fairly slim, and feels somewhat like a 1911. And the take-down and cleaning seems to be pretty straight-forward. The ambidextrous safety, magazine release, et cetera are all where you expect them, and can be engaged with ease. Because of the overall design of the gun, the sights do tend to sit a little high relative to the barrel. In a more powerful caliber, this might present problems with recoil (muzzle flip), but with the .22 is not at all difficult.

.22 LR Target Pistol for Practical Shooting Matches - The Beretta 87 Target is a practical-shooting competition pistol that is ready to go out of the box. All a competitor would have to do (if desired) is to mount the optics of his choice, which can be done quickly and easily thanks to the built-in Weaver-style rail. The 87 Target can be also used as a great training pistol, since its controls are quite similar in locatio and feel to those of Beretta’s famed 92 Series.

Accurate and Easy to Shoot - As Beretta’s flagship target pistol, the 87 Target has to satisfy some very stringent accuracy requirements. It is capable of producing cloverleafs at distances of 30 yards and more, while the trigger, breaking at a crisp 3lbs, greatly helps minimize muscular interference while shooting it. The grips are ergonomically sized for the hand of the average shooter, but they are easily replaceable with something beefier or slimmer to fit other sizes.

Optimized Quick Target Acquisition, Fast Handling - The 6” (150 mm) gives you a long, 7.5” sight radius to optimize alignment and therefore accuracy when shooting without optics. Also, the sights are user-adjustable for both windage and elevation, so that different target loads may be confidently tried while always staying on target. The front sight may be easily replaced with a thinner blade. Magazine change is designed to be quick and intuitive and to cut down on time. The magazine well is beveled for easy no-see insertion, while magazines have a sturdy rubber pad so that they can be safely dropped during competition without any damage.

Heavy and Steady - At 41 ounces, the 87 Target is designed to feel steady in your hand while shooting. Also, the bottom corners of the pistol are squared; it remains upright when when set down on a flat surface, ready to be quickly gripped, magazine loaded and raised to the target (.22LR Practical Shooting). Overall, the Beretta 87 Target is an ideal rimfire competition pistol giving shooters serious about their improvement a great value out of the box.

PAGES: .22 LONG RIFLE STORY - PISTOL TERMS & SAFETY -HOLDING THE PISTOL -SIGHT ALIGNMENT -TRIGGER PULL -VARIOUS SPEEDS -EXOTIC .22'S - MY .22 COLLECTION